Exhibition view, 2017

why me?a series of discussions

The exhibition 'Some things my father put inside my vagina' took place on the billboards of gallery ArtWall in Prague. It was the first time this kind of an autobiographical testimony appeared within the Czech public space. The exhibition was accompanied by a series of panel discussions on rape culture held at tranzitdisplay. The titles of the discussions refer to questions often posed to survivors of sexual assault in a victim-blaming manner. In collaboration with with the magazine A2, we also prepared a special edition dedicated to the subject.

Rape culture is not just about sex. It is present all around us: in commercials as well as in causal conversations, in job interviews and classrooms. In the discussion we will attempt to underline the sociopolitical structures enabling and supporting it. How is gender inequality connected with sexual violence? Shall we simply ignore name-calling? And how does rape culture affect each and every one of us?

We generally perceive the police or the courts as institutions aiming to achieve justice for survivors of sexual violence. However, these institutions have an additional role – for instance, they determine what counts as a sexual assault, or who may be considered a “victim”. The discussion will focus on the sociopolitical function of the following institutions in building and maintaining power relations in our society.

In Czech culture the discourse surrounding sexual violence is primarily dictated by traditional experts- from mental health professionals we may hear about it’s consequences, researches are conducted in the academic sphere and the media, far too often, speareds sensational myths. Meanwhile, in other countries, it has been established that the discourse shifted due to the engagement of survivors. In the discussion, we will explore the concept of 'expert by experience' and it’s vital importance within the fight for human rights.

The discussion will be open to every person willing to share their experience involving various forms of sexual violence, from verbal harassment to rape. Each participator will concentrate on a sociopolitical aspect of their personal experience.